Twice-born
Lia Greenwell
i.
The thyroid gland
is shaped like a butterﬂy,
stretching its lobes like wings
across the sides of the neck,
so that the shaking of one wing,
even a minor ﬂuttering, might
cause it to lift oﬀ
through the top of the head.
ii.
When they opened my mother’s
neck to cut hers out,
they found it shriveled,
broken-winged. The cut
on her neck looked like someone
wanted the breath
right out of her.
iii.
The butterﬂy,
usually twice-born,
falls tired and curls a head
toward a tail, dissolving into the material
of itself, its fresh green skin
melting to ﬂashing scales. Her thyroid
folded its wings around its body sleepily,
108
TWICE-BORN 109
and dreamt that it was more
than itself.
iv.
My mother was reborn
sile